


Of Papers and Meet-Cutes

by KyberLeoCrystals



Series: Clocks & Coffee Shops AU [2]
Category: The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types, The Maze Runner Series - James Dashner
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, imma stop rambling pls enjoy, newt's a barista, so it's not really a sequel to my last fic as much as it is an accompanying piece, they cute, this is basically the meeting of thomas and newt but from thomas' pov instead of newt's, thomas is a student
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:34:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23097940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KyberLeoCrystals/pseuds/KyberLeoCrystals
Summary: Anyone who knows Thomas would agree that he's one of those people with lots of love to give. It's just a shame that he's never really had anyone to shower with that love; there's only so far one can go with friends before the affection either becomes annoying or too much, he's found. He can't help it, though. He lives to make other people happy, because it makes him happy.Basically an accompaniment to my previous fic, Of Clocks and Coffee Shops, in which we learn how Thomas came to be at the shop the day he met Newt.
Relationships: Minho/Gally (background), Newt/Thomas (Maze Runner)
Series: Clocks & Coffee Shops AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1624174
Comments: 8
Kudos: 70
Collections: Pieces of Newtmas





	Of Papers and Meet-Cutes

**Author's Note:**

> So, I added a note to the end of the previous fic stating that I'm not quite done with this AU yet, but I didn't want to jump right back in before I got any proper ideas for another fic, so I thought I'd write Thomas' POV of their meeting. I haven't written anything in a little while, so I apologise if I'm a little rusty. I don't have a beta reader, so any mistakes are my own doing.
> 
> Also, Thomas' appearance in this fic is entirely based on how Dylan O'Brien looked in The Internship because I am WEAK for that look.

"Thomas!"

With a drawn-out groan of annoyance Thomas cracks open his eyes. When he sees Minho standing over him, looking _pissed_ , he's tempted to close them again, though.

"Get your lazy butt out of bed!" Oh, yeah, Minho's definitely pissed. "It's nearly 9:00 and you're still here. Don't you have work to do?"

 _Ugh, don't remind me._ Thomas sits up, sighing. Of all the nights he had to stay up late bingeing TV shows, it _had_ to be last night, when he knew he needed to get up at a reasonable time the next day, didn't it?

Dragging a hand across his face, he swings his legs over the side of the bed, pausing a moment when his head starts spinning from moving too fast. Seemingly satisfied with Thomas actually being vertical, Minho leaves the room, muttering to himself. A big yawn escapes Thomas as he reaches for his glasses, and he acknowledges with a grunt the fact that his co-ordination is a little off, sending said glasses flying off the bedside table and onto the floor. _Perfect. Just how I wanted to start the day._

Once he's up, he ambles out to the kitchen to make a coffee. Unfortunately, he forgets that he's still in his underwear until he notices Minho and Gally staring at him with amused smirks from where they're sitting together on the sofa. _Ah. Gally stayed over last night. Right._ He waves awkwardly before slinking back into his bedroom, mortified, steadfastly ignoring Minho's sniggering.

Yawning once again, he throws open the door to his wardrobe; a generally unsatisfying load of clothes stares back at him. He really needs to go shopping soon. He peruses through the collection for a minute, assessing his mood. Slightly grumpy at being woken up, but in a generally okay state of mind, he ends the debate over whether he should wear colours or just all black with a resounding, "Colour!" in the back of his mind.

Eventually he picks out a dark indigo shirt with a pattern of tiny white spots, a pair of dark jeans, and dark leather Converse shoes. As he changes, he rolls the sleeves of the shirt up and rubs a hand along the markings on his arm. The clock currently stands at 18 years, 147 days, 8 hours, and 42 minutes. A lot of the people he know don't find their soulmates until later in their 18th year, or even until their 19th or 20th, so he's not expecting to find his any time soon.

That doesn't mean he can't be hopeful, though.

Anyone who knows Thomas would agree that he's one of those people with lots of love to give. It's just a shame that he's never really had anyone to shower with that love; there's only so far one can go with friends before the affection either becomes annoying or too much, he's found. He can't help it, though. He lives to make other people happy, because it makes him happy.

Now that he's dressed, he begins a second attempt at making it to the kitchen without ridicule, and thankfully this time, Minho and Gally barely spare him a glance. Of course, that might be because they're making out on the sofa as opposed to Thomas actually being dressed, but he doesn't mind. As long as they're distracted.

He finds that the coffee has already been brewed - _bless Minho and his caffeine addiction_ \- so he grabs a mug out of the cupboard and fills it up, taking a sip immediately. He doesn't care how hot it is; he wants to _wake up, dammit_.

Heading back to his room, Thomas finds his ancient laptop sitting on his desk, so he boots it up and downs the coffee, ignoring the way it burns his throat slightly. He's got a whole paper to write, and only one more day to do it, so he may as well get on with it. _Why do I always leave it until the last minute? Dammit!_

In true Thomas fashion, he gets about one paragraph into the paper before he ends up distracted. Before long he finds himself browsing various social media sites in order to put off having to work. Which, of course, is most decidedly _not_ helpful.

With a frustrated groan, he heaves himself up from his desk chair and stretches. _Maybe a walk will help?_ he thinks. Apparently, his mind is so desperate to put the damn paper off that it latches onto that idea like a leech, refusing to let him get anything else done. So he does.

He slings his laptop into a bag with it still running - it would take about another hour to boot up if he turned it off - before grabbing his earphones and his favourite purple beanie. With a quick shout to Minho that he's going out, he practically runs out the door of their apartment.

  


* * *

  


Thomas winds up in a small coffee shop in a semi-quiet side of town known as The Glade. It's a cosy place, designed for very small groups of people. There are a few sofas on one side, a few chairs and tables by the window, and a few sets of sofa chairs in a corner near the bar. Thomas' chosen seat is one of the ones next to the window, with a view of the bustling street. He has his laptop set up on the table in front of him, and an empty plate behind it that previously had a panini on it.

Even in the twenty minutes he's been here, he's managed to write another three paragraphs of his work, so clearly the change of scenery is doing him some good. He ordered himself a cup of coffee not too long ago, and the barista, a girl with dark brown hair and a nametag that says 'Brenda' on it, said that either she or her colleague would bring it over to him as soon as it's ready. A quick glance up tells him that the queue for the bar is almost out of the door, though, so he realises he's probably going to have to wait a while for the drink. _That's fine. More time to get work done._

He's so engrossed in his laptop that he doesn't notice the cute blonde boy headed his way with a mug in hand until disaster seems to strike; the boy trips over somebody's bag, and, whilst the cup stays in his hands, the drink inside does not. Thomas' cappuccino ends up all over the keyboard of his laptop.

Initially, his first instinct is to be angry, but he knows it's not entirely the boy's fault. _People really need to keep their bags out of the way..._ Instead, he bolts up off his chair and kneels down next to the boy. There's blood on the boy's forehead; he must have whacked his head on one of the table legs as he fell.

"Are you alright?" Thomas asks, offering a hand to the boy - though, at this angle, he realises the guy is slightly older than he looked from further away, so calling him 'the boy' seems a little demeaning. The guy looks about the same age as him, if not slightly older. _Who can really tell with a face like that, though?_.

The guy looks up blearily for a moment before taking the proffered hand. As soon as their skin makes contact, though, a blazing, white-hot pain sears through Thomas' arm. He drops the guy's hand in shock and lets out a small hiss - or it could be a groan? He's not sure. Whatever the case, this _freaking hurts_. It takes him a moment to realise that the other guy seems to be in a similar situation, clutching at his own arm and sucking in sharp breaths between his teeth.

And in this moment, it hits Thomas what's just happened.

He removes his hand and checks the clock on his arm. Sure enough, it's stopped counting. A cursory glance tells him that the other guy's clock seems to have stopped as well, though whether it had been counting down before this, he hadn't been able to see, and Thomas' face lights up in joy.

"So," he begins, tone amused. "It took me 18 years, 147 days, 10 hours, and 26 minutes to meet you, and you did it by spilling coffee on my laptop."

He means it in jest, but the panicked look on the other guy's face tells him that he hasn't yet found the funny side. "I'm sorry! I'll pay for a new one, I swear!" He distantly notes that the guy is English. There's a twinge of the US in that accent of his, but beyond that it's all London.

The guy keeps rambling apologies, and Thomas smiles fondly. He already loves this guy, and it's only been two minutes. He does need him to stop apologising eventually, though, if he wants to court this guy, so he does the only thing he can think of in this situation: he surges forward and kisses him.

From the second their lips touch, it's like static shocks are being sent through Thomas' entire form, but in the best way. The hopeless romantic in him is grinning like a maniac right now. _This must be what love at first sight feels like._ He hears the sound of people cheering around them and dimly notices that they're cheering for them. It's a special moment when one meets one's soulmate, and so the whole patronage of the shop has stopped to watch.

He slowly pulls away from his soulmate - and isn't that a lovely thought? His _soulmate_ \- and smiles. "I'm Thomas," he says, offering a hand to shake, though a handshake usually comes before a kiss he realises belatedly.

His soulmate looks at him for a moment before taking his hand. "Name's Newt," he says, smiling. "As if it wasn't obvious." He points briefly at his nametag, which, sure enough, says 'Newt' on it. "Nice to meet you, Tommy."

 _Tommy._ The nickname is so simple, yet it sends butterflies racing in his stomach. He suddenly decides he'll do anything to get Newt to call him that forever. He also decides it's time to do something about that wound on Newt's forehead. He points at it. "We'd better get you something to put on that."

He takes Newt's hand and leads him back to the bar, where Brenda is waiting with a damp cloth. "Congrats on finding your soulmate," she tells Thomas, handing him the cloth. "This one's a keeper." She winks at them both before heading back to work. Thomas presses the cloth to the bloodied area on Newt's head, causing his soulmate to wince. He flashes Newt a sympathetic look before Newt tells him to ignore Brenda's comment. _She's always like that,_ apparently. Thomas can get used to that if it means seeing Newt here more often.

  


* * *

  


"Edwards! Where is your paper? It should have been handed in yesterday!"

"Sorry, Professor Paige. It's a long story." A long story that involves what he is now considering to be one of the best days of his life.

**Author's Note:**

> any comments are much appreciated!
> 
> come and stalk me on [tumblr](https://kyberlifecrystals.tumblr.com) if ya wanna.


End file.
